Bibb schools prepare to take in displaced Macon Charter students

With the news that Macon Charter Academy will probably close at the end of the month, other schools are preparing to take in additional students.

On Thursday, the state school board voted to terminate the school’s charter, with the closure set for Aug. 31.

“I think that’s probably in the best interest of the students,” Curtis Jones, the Bibb County school system’s superintendent, said of the decision. “I believe that, after about six hours of taking testimony, looking at evidence, the state board gave due diligence and was able to satisfy themselves that, after a year of operation, it was best for Macon Charter’s charter to be terminated.”

The Georgia Charter School Association also backed the state board’s decision, according to a Friday statement. Noting that MCA is not a “current or previous member” of the organization, the statement lauded the action to remove students from a school “plagued by chaos” since going on probation last September.

“GCSA believes Macon Charter Academy is an example of a charter school that was not living up to the promises made in its charter, and the Georgia Board of Education’s decision to close MCA shows the state of Georgia is doing its job as an authorizer by holding schools accountable.”

Jones said Friday that there were about 155 students at MCA, and it was now the district’s job to help those children and their parents transition to other schools.

“I will tell you that those families and students believed Macon Charter was the best decision they could make at this particular time, and now they’re going to have to make an adjustment,” he said.

Part of that effort will involve district officials working at Macon Charter on Tuesday and Wednesday to help families withdraw students from MCA and enroll at their home schools. Jones said that the schools most likely to be affected were Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Riley Elementary School and Ballard-Hudson Middle School, based on the addresses on record for MCA students.

“We’re prepared to help them work through those situations,” Jones said.

Part of that transition might be relaxing uniform or dress code requirements at schools where the MCA uniform might not follow the school’s guidelines, at least through the end of the semester.

Jones added that he wasn’t concerned about the short notice, with just 13 days between the state decision and the termination date. If parents confirmed their plans to enroll students in other Bibb County schools, as opposed to a private school or home school situation, he was hopeful to have school assignments ready by the end of next week.

“We’re able to do that, especially if it’s within our school system, within a couple of days,” he said.

Jones also said the district would be communicating with qualified MCA teachers about potentially filling positions within the district that would be made available based on the additional students taken in.

Macon Charter’s principal, Georgia Ellis Gary, declined comment Friday regarding the termination, and co-founder and governing board President Monya Rutland could not be reached by phone. The school can appeal the state’s decision through Superior Court in Bibb or Fulton counties, but there has been no indication if an appeal is forthcoming.

Officials at Cirrus Academy, a state-funded charter school in Macon, confirmed that they had been receiving new students from Macon Charter. A statement on the school’s website noted that the decision to allow more students was made following the first week of school.

“After analyzing our first week’s enrollment, we have student slots available in each grade level,” the statement reads.

Cirrus Academy is located at 1870 Pio Nono Ave., on the property that was formerly Hamilton Elementary School.

Jones was called as one of the state’s witnesses during Thursday’s hearing in Atlanta, and he said that was difficult. He noted that having a school in Bibb County close wasn’t a positive situation for the district, but he hoped to learn and move forward from it.

“Termination of a charter’s hard, and the families and the leadership and the founders have put in a lot, and so my heart goes out to them,” Jones said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Bibb schools prepare to take in displaced Macon Charter students."